Gary Zhou 
Key Points
- 😃 Tesla updated Optimus Bot production figures during Q2 2023 Earnings Call.
- 🤔 The number of built Optimus Bots is currently around 5 or 6 due to an issue with actuator supply.
- 🚀 Tesla is designing its own actuators for volume production, and the first production candidate actuators will be ready by around November.
- 🤖 Optimus Bot is meant to perform monotonous and non-demanding tasks to relieve humans from boring work.
- 💲 Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggests sacrificing margins to increase vehicle production and may continue with price cuts despite uncertain economic times.
During Tesla’s Q2 2023 Earnings Call, a retail investor inquired about the production figures and progress of the Optimus Bot, Tesla’s first humanoid robot, which was unveiled during AI Day in late 2021.
Tesla had previously issued an update in May, showcasing videos of the Optimus Bot’s walking and autonomous movements, along with some instances where human assistance was required. The developments demonstrated progress in the project, particularly with the robot’s hand movements and its ability to navigate independently.
While Tesla is making strides with the Optimus Bot, the company also offered an explanation during the call as to why the production figures might not be as high as some had anticipated.
However, no updates have been listed since the May video, and more concern regarding the number of units that are currently built surfaced last night during the call.
While Musk joked that 10 million Optimus Bots were active, he and other executives dismissed this with a chuckle before revealing the real answer:
“I think we’re around 5 or 6 bots…But it’s sort of — yes, there’s more every month. There’s a lot of interesting things about the Optimus bot.”
The small number of Optimus Bots that have been built is mostly due to the fact that Tesla ran into an issue with actuator supply, realizing that there is not a single company that can produce the correct device for the robot.
An actuator creates motion by converting energy and signals that go into a system.
Tesla came to the realization that there were no off-the-shelf actuators that “worked well” for Optimus.
Musk said:
“So, we’ve actually had to design our own actuators that integrate the motor or the power electronics, the controller, the sensors. And really, every one of them is custom designed. And then, of course, we’ll be using the same inference hardware as the car. But we are, in designing these actuators, designing them for volume production. So, they’re not just lighter, tighter, and more capable than any other actuators wherever that exists in the world, but it’s also actually manufacturable. So, we should be able to make them in volume.”
The first “sort of production candidate actuators integrated and walking should be around November-ish,” Musk added.
A production ramp of Optimus should occur shortly afterward, he said.
Optimus was unveiled nearly two years ago, and Tesla plans for it to complete monotonous and non-demanding tasks that humans find boring.
